The Boundary of Emptiness II: New Generation
by Hiro Chiba
Summary: The events in this story happen years after Shiki and her successor begins her new job as older Touko's apprentice. New characters, villains, and mysteries to solve! Warning: this story is rated T for mild coarse language and violence!
1. Prologue New Generation

**The Boundary of Emptiness II: New Generation**

-By: Chiba Hiro

*I do not own Kara no Kyoukai or any references toward Nasu. All that I have are the characters that I made up, and it's purely for other's enjoyment.*

… … …

**Prologue- Years Later: Murder Speculation III**

… … …

Present-day Tokyo – Christmas Eve, Tuesday, 11:59PM

The streets of central Tokyo are especially busy around midnight, but this night was no exception. People are bustling to shops for late night shopping for their loved ones. The scene near Tokyo Tower is especially remarkable. Almost nothing can happen on a Christmas Eve, can it?

*Crash!*

*Boom!*

"Ah!"

The sound of three gunfire shots is heard, and people around Tokyo Tower stop dead in their tracks and stare at the murder scene. Horrifying to look at, three people, two high school girls and one older boy, shot and killed. No one was expecting anyone to be killed on Christmas Eve. Who would be sick enough to kill someone in public, and on Christmas Eve for that matter? It was 11:59PM, one minute to midnight, and three people are dead.

Cops pull in and move the crowd to a fair distance away from the three bodies. Some of the police put caution tape around the victims, and direct traffic. Sheriffs and detectives are investigating the scene, but no one could tell where the bullets had been shot from.

One of the detectives goes up to a woman in the crowd and interrogates her.

"Excuse me, can I ask you a question?" the detective asked.

"Yes." The woman replied hesitantly.

"Do you know who shot and killed these three?" he asked.

"No, but I was walking by and then all of a sudden, they were killed! I had no idea where the hell the bullets came from! I swear!" she exclaimed.

"Were there any other witnesses?" the detective asked.

"I think so." She said.

"Then it looks like we have a murder case on our hands." The detective said quietly to himself. "Officers! Seal the entire area off! I want each and everyone interrogated! The murderer can't have gone far!"

The officers that remained went to interrogate the nearest among the crowds, while the detective got interrogated by a news reporter.

"We are live on the scene of a crime where three people, one old man, and two high school girls have been shot and killed randomly in the crowd. I'm here tonight with Detective Miyazaki." The news reporter announced, and turned her attention to Detective Miyazaki.

"Mr. Miyazaki, when this happened, does anyone know who the murderer might be?" she asked.

"I have no witnesses that say they saw what happened. I just interrogated three people and they all said the exact same thing: It all happened too fast, and tonight's murder was completely unexpected." He paused to cough into his handkerchief, and then continued. "What has been celebrated as a holiday of joys and happiness, we now have a holiday of murder and grief. Whoever shot these three will not go unpunished." Detective Miyazaki explained.

"Sources tell me that this is not the first time this month that people have been killed randomly, and on important days too. Tell us, is this not the first time?" the reporter asked.

"Indeed. There have been six cases total this month, but this particular murder has occurred in central Tokyo while the others occurred randomly elsewhere. I have investigated them all, and all who were witnesses say they could not see the murderer." Detective Miyazaki elaborated.

"What do you suspect?" the reporter asked after some time.

"I know for a fact that each and every case we've had to investigate happened on Tuesdays only minutes from midnight. So my guess is that the next murder will happen next Tuesday at the same time, and possibly around the same area." Detective Miyazaki said.

"Are you terrified that these murders have been happening frequently?"

"Absolutely."

"Are the victims all related in some way?"

"Well, three weeks ago, one boy was shot and killed in the middle of a shopping district, he was alone. A week later, five high school students, two boys and three girls, were shot and killed almost two blocks west of the murder that happened a week prior. And last week two government officials were murdered inside their office, and all the tapes were destroyed before we could see the murderer." Miyazaki said.

"Now we have three more cases today, and this time there were three murders. Three hours ago, a teenage boy and girl were shot and killed near the abandoned building in 'that' district, and half an hour later, one construction worker was killed by the building site near the park, and now there are three killings only minutes from midnight."

"Somehow, I think the murderer likes to kill people before midnight, but after nine o'clock."

"And I think they were related because they were all out without adult supervision."

"How is your group planning to stop these murders from happening?" the reporter asked.

"Now if these murders don't stop soon, we'll have to quarantine the city. I remember one time many, many years ago when this many people died, and it was the same thing, all of it happened within days of each other in this very city."

"Anything else you have to say to everyone?"

"I do. Well, we need a miracle to stop this, and someone who knows how to track down murderers, and I think I know the one person who can help."

… … …

Elsewhere, a redheaded woman is sitting at her workplace when the phone rings. She lights up a cigarette, and starts smoking. She picks up the phone and answers it while taking a puff of her cigarette.

"Hello, this is Touko Aozaki speaking. How may I be of assistance?" She answered.

"Touko." Miyazaki's voice rang through the phone.

"Oh, it's the useless detective." She mocked sarcastically. "what is it now?"

"I have a job for you and your assistant."

Touko places the phone on loud speaker. In the shadows, a young teenage girl of about sixteen, in a school uniform, with short, messy black hair, and grey colored eyes, stood listening silently.

"I'm listening." Touko said while winking.

"I want you to put a stop to these murders. I leave it up to you to stop the next one from happening." Miyazaki said.

"Done." Touko said, hanging up with content.

"Well, you heard what you have to do. You have a mission to complete, my little apprentice." Touko said to the girl, grinning.

The girl bowed her head in agreement, and shut her eyes. When she reopened them, they were no longer the color grey, instead they were a glowing bright blue mixed with purple and gold swirling in a circuit-like motion.

"Understood."

… … …


	2. Case 1: Murder Speculation III

**The Boundary of Emptiness II: New Generation**

**-**By: Chiba Hiro**  
**

*I do not own any references toward Nasu or Kara no Kyoukai, just the characters I made up in this story.*

** Case 1: **Murder Speculation III

… … …

_Previously-_

_ It was Christmas Eve, only minutes from midnight, and three shots were fired in the middle of a busy crowd in front of Tokyo Tower. As to who did it, no one knows, and it is a complete mystery. Investigators have no clue either. One of the investigators named Miyazaki, called upon an old business partner, Touko Aozaki, in the hopes that she could help out in some way._

_ Now, Touko had not had this big a case since 1998, and that was many years ago, it is now the year 20**, and her newly acquired apprentice, has a mission to complete. Who is this girl? It sure is NOT Shiki Ryougi!_

… … …

"Alright, Satsuki, you have your first official mission. Do you think you have what it takes to solve this?" Touko asked the girl, her new apprentice, whose name was Satsuki Hirai.

"I understand, Touko. You haven't taught me about these things for two years for nothing, right?" Satsuki said coldly.

"You must investigate these murder happenings, and bring the murderer dead or alive. But bring him to me, not the police." Touko said.

"How can you be sure that the killer is a man?" Satsuki asked.

"Almost eighty percent of all murders are caused by men, and I am perfectly sure that the murderer is a man." Touko said.

"Why don't you use magic to trace this criminal?" Satsuki asked.

"I don't want to waste my time. You can do that perfectly by yourself." Touko said. "What your predecessor did not possess, you possess. She could not have handled the type of magic I am capable of. Even if I do, it would be boring."

"Where must I go first?" Satsuki asked, eyes narrowing at Touko.

Touko met her gaze unflinching. A normal person would cower in fear if they ever saw Satsuki narrow her eyes at them.

"My, you're just as cold as ever. Even your predecessor did not possess such a demeanor toward her superiors. You need to gain respect for your elders, and not stare down at them like they're insects." Touko said without looking straight at Satsuki.

"You're the one that taught me that." Satsuki said, still glaring down at Touko.

"If we're talking about what happened two years ago, and you still can't forgive me, I understand that. Yet, you need me."

"Where would you be without my assistance? At least I have the money to support you since your parents died in that crash years ago, and if it hadn't been for me, you'd be on the brink of death. Maybe you should be grateful to me since it's Christmas, and that you're even able to wear a high school uniform." Touko lectured.

_"I think I would have been better off dead than right now." _Satsuki muttered to herself quietly.

"Now, go. You're wasting your time." Touko said.

"So, I should go to Tokyo Tower, then?" Satsuki asked.

"No, you should investigate all of the cases." Touko said, conjuring up an envelope from out of thin air. "This should help you. It has information regarding the fifteen people that were shot and killed in the previous three weeks."

"I understand." Satsuki said, and left Touko's office immediately.

… … …

Satsuki waited on the platform by the train station, and waited for the train for Tokyo Tower. While looking over the documents in the envelope, two older college guys came by and stood on either side of her. One of them pulled out a cigarette, and started smoking. By now, Satsuki had gotten used to the smell of tobacco, but she could not help coughing from the smell, and how close this guy was.

"Oh, I'm sorry, babe." The guy with the cigarette said, taking a puff. "Does me smoking bother you?"

"Yeah, my buddy apologizes." The guy to the right side of Satsuki said, now staring at Satsuki.

"We promise to make it up to you, babe." The guy with the cigarette said, still taking a whiff of his cigarette.

"How about you come with us to Tokyo, and celebrate Christmas with us at the bar? I'm sure your parents would approve! By the way…" the guy with the cigarette paused to take a puff. "The name's Ishimaru Kotomiya. I'm a college student."

"I'm his buddy, Haru Otoshi. I'm in the same grade as him." The other guy said.

"So…" Ishimaru said, still smoking.

By this time, Satsuki was more than annoyed at boys trying to woo her. _'Who do these idiots think I am? I'd get in trouble if I start a fight. But still…' _she thought.

"Will you come with us?" Haru asked, and grabbed onto Satsuki's arm, causing her to drop the envelope.

Instantly, Satsuki jerked her arm out of Haru's grasp, and did rapid-fire jabs to his shoulder, which made him fall to his knees, grabbing his arm in pain. She spun around just as fast, and open-palmed Ishimaru in the gut none too gently. It seemed to knock the wind out of him. This reaction caused Ishimaru to spit his cigarette out, and clutch his stomach.

"You bitch!" Ishimaru cursed. "What the fuck did you do to us?"

"If this is the way you pick up girlfriends, then I gotta say that you guys are total assholes. If you were smart, you'd have figured out that I'm not interested in stupid guys like you." Satsuki said coldly to them. The tone of her voice, and her glaring, circuit-like swirling eyes made them flinch at her gaze. Haru grabbed Ishimaru and ran off with the wind.

_'They better run! Fuck! They almost made me late for the train!' _

**"All aboard for Tokyo Tower!" **The oncoming train's conductor announced over the loudspeaker.

Satsuki boarded the train and found an empty seat by the window, and looked over the scattered documents.

_'They list all the information of the victims from the previous three weeks, up until tonight's murder. Let's see, fifteen people total. The first case was Shino Amasawa who was 8 years old and was murdered three weeks prior to Christmas Eve in the middle of a shopping district and he was alone.'_

_ 'The second case were five people murdered a week later around the same time, almost two blocks west of the previous murder. Two high school boys and three girls were murdered. The names of the two boys were Ryou Kawari and Shirou Mouto, both are sophomores and are 17 years of age. Three girls accompanied them from the same class, their names are Sakura Kouno, Ayumi Amasawa (older sister of previously murdered younger brother), and Kimiko Natsuhi, and all of them are 17 years old.'_

_ 'The third case occurred a week later inside two government official offices. Two government officials were killed, Hiro Amasawa (Ayumi's and Shino's uncle), and Tsubasa Hiroto. Hiro was 45 years old, and his secretary, Tsubasa, was 41 years old when they died._

_ 'So far, almost all the cases had the family name 'Amasawa' in it, but the people around them must've been killed by accident. Could it be that the killer targets the Amasawas simply because they're related in some way? It doesn't make sense.'_

_ 'The fourth case occurred four-and-a-half hours ago. A teenage boy and girl were killed behind the abandoned building in the district where many people met their end by jumping off the building. The boy was 16 and the girl was 15 years old. The boy's name is Amaru Amasawa (Ayumi and Shino's first cousin on the father's side) and his girlfriend's name was Mikoto Akita.'_

_ 'Almost half an hour later, a construction worker was just getting off work when he was shot and killed. His name was Seito Minato, 42 years old. He was the brother of the Amasawas' mother. The last murder case occurred more than an hour ago. There were two high school girls and one old man. The two girls were twins, and the old man was their grandfather. All of their names end in Amasawa!'_

"There really is a pattern." Satsuki whispered to herself. "All of the cases had Amasawa in them. In conclusion, the murderer, or murderers, is out to kill people related to the Amasawa clan."

"I better investigate at the city hall first." Satsuki said, and got out at the next stop, which wasn't Tokyo Tower.

… … …

Satsuki searched through the records of people in Tokyo, and quickly found Amasawa. She took a careful look at the records, and flipped to the page with the family tree.

"It definitely ends with the youngest." Satsuki commented, and flipped a page to where the history was.

_'The Amasawas were among the greatest of the demon hunters. They had not been active in many years. It is said that their powers rival those of the legendary four clans, the Nanaya clan, the Ryougi clan, the Asagami clan, and the Fujou clan. They were not that well known amongst the public because they kept their secrets guarded strongly.'_

_ 'The greatest demon hunter to be born within the Amasawas was Otoha Amasawa. He was perhaps as strong as Shiki Ryougi, who was from the Ryougi clan, and the strongest as of yet. Otoha and Shiki never crossed paths with each other, but both were revered as rivals in the same profession.'_

_ 'But, in recent years, a stir on the demon side caused an uproar among the Amasawas, and Otoha sought to kill a demon known as Kami no Mononoke. He mortally wounded the demon, and barely escaped alive. To this day, no one knows what has become of the demon, and as for Otoha, he disappeared into the depths of history as they say.'_

"I had no idea that my predecessor was that strong." Satsuki commented after a while. "If I could, I would want to meet her someday."

… … …

At the site of the latest murder-

Satsuki checked the place where the three victims had been shot and killed only hours ago. The area was blocked by tape, and no one but authorized people are allowed. Detective Miyazaki was still there investigating with a few officers while Satsuki tested the blood on the ground.

Satsuki looked around to make sure no one was watching her closely, and no one was. She looked back down at the blood stain, and swiped a finger on the blood, and examined it. There was nothing special in it, but what was strange was even though three hours had passed, the blood still seemed fresh for some reason. _'Blood shouldn't be this fresh after three hours.'_

Satsuki looked over at Miyazaki and called him over to her. Miyazaki walked up to her, and knelt down next to her.

"Where are the victims' bodies now?" Satsuki asked, not looking directly at Miyazaki.

"Um, I believe an ambulance took them to the nearest hospital. Why?" Miyazaki answered.

"I want to get a closer look at the bodies, and what type of bullets this murderer used. Does your team have any idea as to what the bullets were in the last five cases?" Satsuki asked.

"Well, we extracted all the Amasawas' bullets as you requested, and they'll be along in a moment."

Just then, a police car pulled up to the tape, and an officer stepped out holding a sheet with what appeared to be bullets. The officer walked up to Miyazaki, and gave it to him. Miyazaki unwrapped the sheet, and lay the sheet on the ground. Satsuki took one, and began to examine it carefully.

"What do you plan on doing to the bullets?" Miyazaki asked.

"Are these the correct ones?" Satsuki asked, not answering Miyazaki's question directly.

"Um, I believe they are the correct ones." Miyazaki said. "They haven't been washed."

"Good." Satsuki said.

"If I may ask, Miss Hirai, what do you plan on doing with the bullets?" Miyazaki asked again.

"I'm going to use magic." Satsuki said. "Turn the other way, and make sure no one sees what I'm doing. This is pretty complex stuff."

"I understand." Miyazaki said, and called to the crowd to move away.

Satsuki closed her eyes, and concentrated on the bullet._ 'Reinforcing. Trace on. Circuits. Visualize.' _Inside her mind, she could see the bullet clearly, and the scene from which the bullet had been fired from. This bullet was used to kill Shino Amasawa, the first victim. _'I see it.'_

_Reinforced flashback-_

_The scene was taken from three weeks before. A little boy is wandering the streets looking for his mother. He is currently unaware of a shadow figure following close behind him. The figure moves with the boy, and the boy is starting to get conscious of the fact that someone is following him. The boy turns around, but he sees no one following him, so he turns forward, and continues the search for his mother. Another ten minutes later, the same creepy feeling comes back to him, and the boy looks back again, but there was no one there still. _

_The boy breaks into a sprint. He tries to run away from the creeping feeling, while the shadow figure is running right next to him. The people are oblivious to the shadow, but are confused as to why the boy is running away from something. Many stare at him, but no one seems to take notice of the shadow. Looking closer at the shadow, the shadow develops glowing yellow eyes, and a wide glowing mouth in the form of a sinister grin. _

_The boy stops in the middle of the street to catch his breath, and call to his mother._

_"Mommy!" the boy shouts, but no one responds to the child._

_The shadow stands behind him, and the boy slowly turns and sees the shadow now. The shadow pulled a gun from its sleeve, and aims it at the boy. The boy just cowers in fear as the shadow fires, and the bullet kills the boy instantly. _

_Many people stop in their tracks, and stare at the boy who was killed by an otherwise invisible killer. Many began calling the police._

_Minutes later, police cars drive up to the crowd, and began to seal off the area. Similarly, a detective's car pulls up next to one of the police cars, and pulls out an authority's badge, stating that he investigate immediately._

_A little to the left, the shadow figure that killed the boy is in the middle of the crowd, and he begins to shed his shadow-like skin. The shadow revealed itself to be a man with light blond hair, and crimson red eyes. The edges of his mouth forms into a sinister grin, and he vanishes into thin air before the authorities could question the crowd._

_End of reinforced flashback-_

Satsuki opened her eyes again, and looked at Miyazaki after what seemed like an unbearably long time. The detective was puzzled as to why she was giving him a cold look. He shivered from the look in Satsuki's cold, gray eyes.

"Um...are you done, Miss?" Miyazaki hesitated to ask.

"I know the face of the man who killed the boy." Satsuki said.

"But, even if you found out who killed the boy, you still don't know who killed the rest of the victims." Miyazaki said.

"True, but if you take a closer look, you'd see that all these bullets are the same, and were likely used by the same gun, possibly by the same person." Satsuki explained.

"That doesn't make any sense." Miyazaki said. "How could one man be capable of murdering so many people? And why?"

"That's what I want to find out." Satsuki said, and closed her eyes to examine the remaining fourteen bullets.

... ... ...

After a while of examining each bullet with magic, she opened her eyes again, and stood up from her crouched position. No one knew how long she had been kneeling there holding each bullet, but now the crowd had lessened to about twenty people.

"Take me to the abandoned building where the suicides from 1998 occurred." Satsuki requested the detective to do.

"Um, I'm not so sure that's a good idea to do, miss Hirai." Miyazaki shamefully refused. "I mean, you look so young, but as a detective, I can't allow you to solve this mystery, and capture the criminal on your own. I'm afraid you'll have to tell me where to go, and I will handle the rest."

Satsuki's eyes narrowed.

"You think that just because I'm young I shouldn't go capture the serial killer myself, huh? Well, let me tell you useless idiot. What makes you think a third-rate detective like you will be able to handle this?" Satsuki said with a hint of irritation in her voice.

"That's not what I meant! I mean, it's late and you should rest assured and let me handle this." Miyazaki corrected.

"I don't care. It's not like I have a family to return to anyway...never mind." Satsuki said quietly.

"I'm sorry, but as an adult and authority of this city, I can't allow an underage girl capture a criminal like that. Especially not at night! I don't care if you're Touko's assistant. I'm saying it's too dangerous!" Miyazaki lectured her.

That was the final straw. Satsuki's eyes changed from cold gray to the glaring circuit-like swirl of blue, gold, and purple. At the same time, time outside of them literally stopped, and the two of them just stood there staring at each other. Satsuki pulled a hidden dagger from her skirt pocket, and pointed the blade toward the ground.

"What do you think you'll accomplish if you stab me right here and now? You'll get arrested for killing!" Miyazaki exclaimed, but sadly, no one seemed to move.

Even the wind around them stopped blowing, which made Miyazaki worried.

"It wouldn't matter because I temporarily stopped time with magic." Satsuki said with a voice filled with malice. "I could kill you in this timeless space, and no one would know who did it."

"So, even if you killed me right now, no one would know except you?" Miyazaki asked.

"Exactly."

"I...I get it! This is probably the method the serial used to kill those victims, right?" Miyazaki cowered.

"No, because time was still moving onward. We are in a timeless space where time is infinite in a vacuum. The killer obviously used a spell to make himself invisible up until he killed someone." Satsuki said.

"You got that just by examining those bullets?"

"Normal humans will never understand the complexity of magic." Satsuki said.

"Why are we here then?" Miyazaki asked.

"I will say it again, you will take me to the abandoned building where there were a number of suicides in 1998. I will make time move forward again if you agree, but if you still refuse, you will die without anybody knowing who killed you."

"...Fine. I'll take you there." Miyazaki agreed hesitantly.

The atmosphere around them began to move again, and the wind was now blowing as it normally would.

"Excellent choice." Satsuki said, her eyes back to normal again.

... ... ...

At the abandoned building-

Satsuki got out of the car, and left for the entrance.

"Thanks for the ride. I can handle it from here." Satsuki said.

"No way. I want help you on this one." Miyazaki disagreed.

"I thought I told you I could handle it."

"I know you can, but one little girl might not be enough to stop this guy."

"Fine. Come if you must. But don't say I didn't warn you not to follow."

Satsuki lifted the rusted garage door of the abandoned building a few feet up, and slid through. Miyazaki followed close behind her with a flashlight. Waving the flashlight around the room, they could tell it used to be a storage house.

"Miyazaki, how long ago was this place abandoned?" Satsuki asked as they explored the hallway of the hospital.

"I'm not so entirely sure about how long ago, but I think it might have been abandoned more than forty years ago...hey, wait for me!"

"Come on. We're taking the elevator up." Satsuki said after they reached the elevator.

"Where are we going?"

"To the top, of course." Satsuki answered after they got in. "The killer lives on the very top of this building."

"He...does?" Miyazaki said, shuddering from the thought.

"You still want to accompany me?" Satsuki asked after they passe the second floor. "This is going to be dangerous. This guy uses sorcery."

"...I can care less about sorcery and all that junk! I said I'm coming with you, and I meant it!"

"No one will say anything if you left right now."

"No! as a detective, and as a man, I won't allow you to go alone!"

"Hey, that sounds as if you're proposing to your future wife, or something." Satsuki said sarcastically, but Miyazaki apparently took it seriously.

"Hey!"

"Just curious by the way. How old are you? Do you really have a wife?" Satsuki asked.

"Um, I'm 22, and no I'm not married. Why do you want to know that?" Miyazaki answered.

"Are you an idiot, or something? Why would you honestly answer to that type of question?"

"Hey! You asked! And it's a detective's job to answer any question he is asked!

"I could care less if you're married or not." Satsuki commented, which left an exaggerated tick mark on Miyazaki's temple. "Relax, I was kidding."

"You don't smile much, do you?" Miyazaki asked. "Why?"

"There's nothing to be happy about." Satsuki said.

"Anyway, since it's Christmas, why aren't you happy and with your family like a normal teenage girl?"

"I don't have one, I told you already. They died. So, that's why I don't smile anymore." Satsuki said, choking back tears. "Every time I see something or someone happy about anything in general, it irritates me. I don't know why, though."

"I think that's jealousy."

"Maybe. Perhaps I'm jealous at those who are happy." Satsuki said ironically. "How about you? Why aren't you at home celebrating Christmas?"

"I'm a detective, and since I'm usually on urgent business, I don't get much time with my family."

"What happened with them? Why did you become a detective?"

"Well, I think I'm much like you. My parents actually left when I was really young, and left me with foster parents and brother. I left them when I turned 18, and I went into the detective's business because I wanted to be able to solve mysteries and crime, much like those TV shows I watched when I was younger." Miyazaki explained.

"That's quite interesting." Satsuki commented.

"Yeah..."

"We're here." Satsuki said, changing the atmosphere, her tone changing to malice again.

"Stay back and out of the way." she said, and drew the dagger from her pocket.

When the elevator stopped and opened, Satsuki made a giant leap out of the elevator, and landed thirty feet away. Satsuki looked around with her circuit-like eyes again.

"I know you're here." Satsuki called out. "Come out peacefully, or fight!"

She was greeted with silence, and a breeze. Satsuki raised her dagger a little higher, and called out again.

"I said I know you're here! Come out peacefully, or I'll find you myself!"

There was silence again.

"Maybe no one's up here. You could've been wrong." Miyazaki said, walking up next to her.

Satsuki held a finger to Miyazaki's mouth, and forced him to shut up.

"Shut up, I know he's here. He's just hiding." Satsuki said.

Just then, the wind picked up, and Satsuki turned to the left of her, and leaped up and landed next to a trash can.

"You knew I was coming, didn't you?" Satsuki spoke to the trash can.

Nothing.

"Why are you speaking to the trash can?" Miyazaki asked.

"The killer would normally hide in abandoned buildings like this. And, I know you're in there!" Satsuki shouted, and sliced the trash can into two halves.

Immediately, a shadow figure emerged from the destroyed trash can, and landed a few feet away. The shadow transformed into the man Satsuki saw in her vision. It was the killer, she recognized.

"You are the criminal responsible for the fifteen dead victims."

The man just grinned his sinister grin.

"I'm so glad you found me." he said. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Kami no Mononoke, but you can call me 'Kami'."

"I didn't come here to chat with the likes of you." Satsuki said.

"Oh dear, how rude. Isn't it customary to give one's own name before addressing the others? At least tell me your name." Satsuki said.

"You won't live long enough to remember it." Satsuki threatened, and pointed the dagger at 'Kami'.

"Oh, a fight so soon? But, I have a gift for you since it's Christmas!" Kami exclaimed with a fake smile.

"I don't care, and I'm not interested in a gift from you." Satsuki said, lowering her tone a bit.

"My, how uncivilized. Haven't your parents ever taught you not to talk to strangers in that way?"

"No, they taught me NEVER to talk to strangers, period."

By this point, Satsuki was more than annoyed at this man's jokes. _'If he thinks he can fucking joke around in front of me before a duel, he's in deep trouble!' _Satsuki lowered her dagger, and charged at Kami with the grace of a sprinter and an acrobat.

"I believe you won't be fighting me first." Kami said, and raised his arms up, and crossed them over each other.

Satsuki was about to lay a slicing blow, when suddenly, the arm that held the dagger was yanked to the side, and she stood there.

"Why don't you wait patiently while I gather some friends? I'm sure they would want to 'play' with you."

"Miss Hirai!" Miyazaki shouted.

"No, you idiot! Stay back!" Satsuki shouted back.

"Get ready for 'em!" Kami announced, and just then, fifteen spirits rose from the ground, and assembled in a circle around him.

"Recognize 'em? They're my victims!"

"You fucking bastard! You would mess with the dead spirits like a group of toys! You're no human!"

"My, what gave you the idea that I'm human?" Kami said. Immediately, his appearance began to grow feral. His crimson red eyes filled the whites in them so all that was left was a blood red color, and his canines grew into fangs that hung out of his mouth.

Satsuki's eyes widened in shock. Even though she knew Kami was a demon, seeing it in person was a whole different experience.

"Ahh! What is that?" Miyazaki exclaimed.

"How rude of you humans to say such a thing! I am Kami no Mononoke!"

"You're still on to that?" Satsuki said more to herself than to anyone else. Just then, her voice turned into echoes, and her circuit-like swirling irises grew brighter. "I...will...kill...you!"

Satsuki yanked her hand back, and broke whatever took hold of her. She sprinted with the speed of an Olympic athlete toward the spirits of the murdered victims. Whereas the spirits charged at her equally, but much, much slower.

"Forgive me, spirits! But, I must do it to release you from this hell!" Satsuki shouted to them.

One of them came close to her, and she sliced the spirit into two, and he disappeared. Similarly two more came after her, and she plunged her dagger straight through both of them, and they disappeared much the same way. The spirits of the two twins charged up to her with daggers of their own, but Satsuki went around them, and disarmed them in one swift movement, and sliced through them.

"Five down, ten to go!"

The spirit of the old man charged at her like an old samurai, but she disarmed him in the same manner, and he disappeared as soon as she sliced at him. The next spirit was that of the construction worker, and he charged with a wrench in his hand like a dagger too. Satsuki grabbed hold of the wrench, and slice and diced the construction worker.

Satsuki slashed the spirits of the two government officials that came up from behind her to try a sneak attack. _'That's ten total, five more left, and then it's the big boss!'_

One, two, three, four, and last. Satsuki pirouetted a few times, and sliced the five remaining that surrounded her, and attempted an all-out assault, and they dispersed as she sliced through them, the last being the boy, who smiled in the end. When she stopped, she faced Kami sternly, but by this point, Kami had transformed into a miniature three-tailed fox.

"You're a fox demon, aren't you? That's what Otoha Amasawa was fighting, huh?"

"Don't you ever mention the name Otoha Amasawa again!" Kami shouted, and lunged at Satsuki, whereas Satsuki parried the attack.

Just in that instant, Satsuki saw something in Kami's past as she saw the figure of a man clashing together with a wounded fox demon. _'That was you, wasn't it?'_

"You hate Otoha Amasawa." Satsuki whispered.

"I said never say that name again!"

"Why not?"

"I hate him! The name of the devil in human form who almost killed me that day many years ago on this very roof! I will kill anyone who is related to the Amasawa blood line, and then I will kill that blasted Otoha myself!"

"Why wait 'till now to finally exact your revenge? I understand why you want to kill Otoha, but involving his family members will not help the problem. If I could, I would help you, but it seems that you have buried yourself in something that goes farther than just revenge. It's total annihilation of a clan where the man who fought you was born from." Satsuki said, blocking a strike from Kami's sharp claws.

"Why would a human like you want to help me now that I have revealed myself? I deliberately hate hypocrites. You say you would kill me because of the crimes I have committed, yet you want to help me now that you heard my history, that is hypocrisy."

"I'm not trying to be hypocritical. As a fox, you must want to be in the company of others, but not fighting. You want to be a companion to someone without them killing you." Satsuki lectured as Kami and her dagger crossed each other, and held each other in a stalemate.

"As a fox demon, I want to be left alone, especially from you demon hunters! Demon Hunters just want to kill demons to gain money, you're no different! You're Touko's lacky!"

Satsuki pushed her dagger a little more, and the weight of her dagger on Kami's claws was even greater.

"I don't care what you say about me, but never insult Touko. She may be a heartless bitch, but she's my foster mother, and I have to respect her either way. You would too if you had a kin, instead of focusing your time on killing harmless humans."

"Why would a human care about what a demon like me says? Only moments ago, you said you'd kill me!"

"I did because I never understood demons, but now that I see you, I see only hatred and pain."

"Demons are supposed to feel hatred!"

"...but not pain, right?"

Tears started to well in Kami's eyes, and he looked at Satsuki's pitying gray eyes.

"You...you're eyes have changed, human."

"I want you to know my name, it's Satsuki Hirai." Satsuki said.

"Oh, what should I do! I, a demon, have committed a grave sin!"

"You may be a demon, but demons have the right to feel pain too."

"What do I do to make amends?"

"First of all, I want you to relinquish this form, and live from now on as a human, and don't kill."

"And last, I want you to take responsibility for what you've done.

"I will."

"Miyazaki, you still there?" Satsuki called to Miyazaki, who was hiding in the elevator.

"Oh, yes?"

"Come here, and help our friend."

Miyazaki walked over to Satsuki's side, still afraid of Kami. Kami let the stalemate pass, and they both withdrew their weapons (claws in Kami's case).

"You will take your responsibility with this man, and be of help to him."

"Miyazaki, you take him on as a helper."

"What?" Miyazaki exclaimed.

"You heard me." Satsuki said, a hint of malice in her voice.

"Um, yes, ma'am."

"Now, will you do it, or shall we continue our fight?"

"No, I believe I've had enough." Kami said, and transformed back into a man. "though I believe that I must make myself more appealing."

Kami then shrunk a few inches, and turned into a woman with curves.

"Wow! So, I can have her as my assistant?" Miyazaki asked.

"Yeah, yeah."

"So, okay! What should I call you, huh? Because Kami doesn't really sit well with me!" Miyazaki exclaimed.

"How about Kitsune Kamiya?" Satsuki suggested.

"That sounds okay."

"I agree."

... ... ...

So, after that incident, they brought in Kitsune to Touko, and Touko had Kitsune's memories from her fight with Otoha Amasawa erased, and they deemed Satsuki a full-time worker. Miyazaki and Kitsune returned to the office, and Satsuki stood alone in Touko's office again.

"Oh, I do believe something has changed in you, hasn't it?" Touko commented.

"I think it was from the mission." Satsuki answered.

"I think you've learned to lighten up a little."

"Yes."

"So, now that you've completed your first mission, how about that Christmas present?"

"Isn't it a little too late for that now?"

"Nonsense! It's never too late! This year, you have two presents!"

"Really? I haven't had a real present in a long time."

"Well, your predecessor wanted me to give you something." Touko said, and handed Satsuki a wrapped present with a red ribbon on it.

Satsuki opened it with an enthusiasm she had never felt before. Before she knew it, she pulled out a red Christmas colored, hood-less jacket with a white fluffy collar.

"It was her favorite. She said it was time to hand it to her successor."

"But why wait 'till now to give it to me?"

"She said it should be given to you when you turned seventeen, but I figured it was more suited for Christmas rather than your birthday." Touko said cheerfully. "It even suits you!"

"I like it a lot. Please send my thanks to my predecessor for me!" Satsuki said and bowed gratefully to Touko after putting on the red jacket.

"We're glad that you like it. Oh, and I believe my present for you is...another mission!"

"Great! I'm ready for it."

... ... ...


	3. Case 2: A Dream of Darkness Pt 1

**The Boundary of Emptiness II: A New Generation**

** -**Chiba Hiro

(I do not own any of Kara no Kyoukai references, and I don't intend to use it for ill purposes, I am just writing this for pure enjoyment.)

A/N: The setting for this part of the story takes place nearly 2 years before the events of 'Murder Speculation III'. So, this chapter is basically telling you how Touko met Satsuki, and why she is with her now. In order not to make it seem unbearably long like the first part, I split it up into four parts. Please enjoy!

… … …

**Case 2: **A Dream of Darkness (Part 1 of 4)

January 1st- 6:00 PM

The scene opens up to where we see Touko strolling around the block on a snowy New Years' Day. She just went for a smoke and a stroll because she just wanted to visit the local shrine for some good luck; instead she stopped dead in her tracks as she spots a young fourteen-year-old girl walking with her talkative friends as they walk in the same direction as she is.

This could be what they call a meeting of fate, but Touko did not take fate seriously and chose to brush it off, but every time she laid eyes on the quiet girl, she got a feeling of sympathy or something like it. She had not felt like this since Shiki, but she knew that Shiki grew out of the business, and left with Mikiya sometime ago, but now, this girl emitted vibes similar to Shiki's. Could she be…? No, it can't be.

They stop at the corner when the light signals changed from go to stop. The two girls kept on talking, but the girl that gave off 'Shiki-like' vibes was utterly silent, and had a melancholy look to her that reminded Touko all too much of Shiki before she and Mikiya got married.

Could they possibly be related? No, it's much too soon for those two to have had a child. Though, I have to admit that the two look so much alike, even the haircut and faces are similar. They both had narrow, grey eyes, shoulder-length, jet-black hair, slender, tall for their ages, and pale complexions.

Suddenly, one of the girls addressed her.

"Hey, miss, are you going to the shrine tonight as well?"

Her thoughts snapped back to reality. "Why, yes, I am." Touko replied. "Are you going as well? And, may I know your name? Mine is Touko Aozaki." She said and smiled.

"My name is Sakura Ogura." The girl with shoulder-length brown hair tied back with a red ribbon introduced herself, and said it with the warmest smile you will ever see.

"And my name is Akari Ichimura." The third girl with waist-length blue-black hair done in a braid introduced herself in the same manner as Sakura.

"Satsuki Hirai." She replied with not even the slightest smile on her expressionless face, not that anyone could blame her, you're normally not expected to introduce yourself to strangers and smile at the same time, but since Touko introduced herself first, she expected a smile, or a faint one, at least.

"Are you girls, by any chance, students attending Tokyo Private Junior High for girls?" Touko asked, noticing that they all wore the sailor-styled uniform.

"Oh, you noticed? Yes, we are!" The girl whose name was Sakura answered cheerfully while doing a 360 pirouette.

"That's interesting." Touko said. "But, I didn't think they had classes on New Years' Day."

"We're all council members, that's why!" Sakura vouched for them all.

"I'm the eighth grade vice-president." Akari said.

"I'm eighth grade secretary." Sakura said.

When Satsuki didn't respond, Touko had to ask.

"What position are you, miss Hirai?" Touko asked.

"I'm...not on the council, but they insisted I follow them anyway."

"Why do you always wait to be asked when someone expects an immediate answer? I swear, Satsuki, you've always been so distant! You'll never get any respect that way!"

"I don't care for relationships right now." Satsuki responded.

"Oh, I guess we'll go on ahead, then." Sakura said, and she and Akari left Satsuki when the light signaled 'go.'

Touko started to walk a couple paces before turning to look back at Satsuki, she did not move an inch.

"What's wrong?" Touko asked, completely missing the chance to cross the street.

"I…didn't want to go with them. They dragged me with them without even asking first." Satsuki said more too herself than to Touko, but she didn't notice.

"I see." She said. "Are they really your friends? It didn't look like you wanted to be with them in the first place?"

"I hate being with people." Satsuki said detachedly.

"Why"

"Those types of people never understand how I feel."

"In what way do they not understand? From the impression I get from you, I take it you're anti-social."

"Call it whatever you like, but I never liked being with people. Especially nosy people like them."

"Huh?"

"I just want to be left alone." Satsuki said finally, but before Touko could ask anymore questions, the girl vanished from sight. It was as if she disappeared with magic, or turned invisible. But, in this day and age, almost no one was able to perform vanishing or teleportation techniques, but this girl seemed to disappear like mist.

"That girl reminds me so much of Shiki."

… … …

Three months later- 4:50 PM

Touko sits in her office writing papers while smoking lazily on her cigarette. She tries contemplating the encounter with Satsuki three months earlier, but try as she might, she could not stop thinking her chance encounter with Satsuki. Somehow, her expressions and attitudes toward everyone were surprisingly similar to her former employee.

"Maybe I should go and meet her personally. I am a part-time counselor." Touko said to herself and leaned back in her chair to think about it. "But, she may think I'm a stalker if I do. Though, I have information on all the citizens of Tokyo, since it's my duty to know these things, but I am not running a psychiatric agency here. No matter what I do, I cannot stop thinking about her."

"Maybe I'll take a stroll to clear my thoughts." Touko stood up, and left the office.

… … …

At the train station- 5:30 PM

Touko put out her cigarette and entered the train bound for Shinjuku. When the train got to the next stop, the train picked up the one person she had been thinking about for months.

Satsuki Hirai boarded the train with her parents and brother. Touko sat too far away to hear what they were saying, so she used a spell, one she hadn't used in several years, to eavesdrop on their conversation. It seemed like they were talking about Satsuki.

… … …

"Satsuki, why must we always have these conferences with the headmaster?" her mother asked Satsuki, but the girl remained silent and grim-faced like always.

"Will you please answer your mother?" her father said.

Still, she remained silent.

Her brother waited a while before sitting closer to her, and placing his hand on top of hers.

Touko hadn't expected Satsuki to stiffen as her brother did that.

"Satsuki, everything will be alright. I know it will." Her brother said comfortingly.

For what seemed like the first time, Satsuki paid attention to what her brother said, and yet she deliberately ignored her parents.

"Why do you always ignore what we ask, young lady?" her father shouted, which caused him to be the butt of everyone's sudden stare in his direction.

"Sorry!" her father shouted.

"Anyway, Satsuki, will you please answer us?" her mother asked in a gentler tone, trying to get her to talk to her slowly.

Satsuki kept looking down at her lap, and shook her head slowly.

"Will you please answer to us in words?"

Satsuki shook her head again.

"Please answer." Her brother stepped in, and that got her.

"Why do we have to go to these conferences constantly?"

When she finally spoke, thanks to the prompting from her twelve-year-old brother, her voice sounded shrill and full of frustration, but it remained a little above a fierce whisper.

"I…don't…know!" she answered.

After she spoke, they all grew silent.

The train stopped and the Hirais stood up to get off at Shinjuku.

"I have heard all I needed to." Touko said, and got off to follow them.

These turn of events got her interested in Satsuki's case. It seemed like Satsuki was getting in trouble constantly with her school's disciplinary committee. She seemed to be a problem, but she doesn't look like a delinquent.

Touko remained a few meters behind the Hirai family, with Satsuki following behind her parents, and brother.

"Um, excuse me?" she asked the Hirais, which they stopped and turned around to face her. "Is there a problem? I couldn't help but overhear your conversation earlier."

"Are you a stalker?" the brother asked innocently.

"Yuki, that's rude!" Hiroki's mother scolded.

"Excuse me, but why…" their father started to ask, but Touko was already ahead of them.

"If there is a problem, I do happen to be a counselor, and I can help." Touko answered. "By the way, my name is Touko Aozaki."

"Are you a legitimate counselor, miss Aozaki?" their father asked.

"I have a degree and I am certified for it, so yes I am."

"Well, can you help us?" their mother asked suddenly.

"No, don't just ask strangers, she could possibly be lying to us." Their father asked their mother in a tone a little above a whisper.

"Hiroaki, we wouldn't normally take a stranger's word realistically, but if she claims she is who we think she is, we might be able to help Satsuki." Their mother said.

"Fine then, Sakurako. If you can help us, we'd appreciate it, miss Aozaki." Hiroaki was convinced.

"Yes, what is it? You can have my card, and we can have a session after this, um, problem." Touko said, and presented her card for psychology, which she had worked hard for in the last few years, because some of her duties required her to do some counseling in between solving supernatural cases in the secret organization.

"Okay, but first we have to meet with the headmaster. It seems like our daughter Satsuki, has gotten into another predicament in school." Sakurako started to explain, but stopped herself, since they might be late in meeting with the headmaster.

"So, from what I can tell, she gets in trouble often?" Touko asked.

"No, she's really such a sweet girl, but she's far too distant from the rest of her classmates, and she hasn't made a single friend since she started junior high."

"…It's because everyone hates me." Satsuki cut in, and walked on.

"Oh, well, if you'll excuse us, we have to go, or else we run the risk of being late." Hiroaki said, and they all walked on.

"Wait!" Touko called for Sakurako. "Take my card so we can have a session, if you want. I'm free of charge after three o'clock, and you can come to my office, or give me a call anytime during the week."

"Thank you, miss Aozaki."

"Call me Touko."

"Oh, thank you then, Touko."

The two shook hands. In that moment, the two grew a connection and quickly became close acquaintances. Then, they left for Satsuki's junior high.

… … …

Inside the headmaster's office of Fuji Junior High- 5:45PM

The Hirai family sat waiting patiently for the headmaster to speak, since the headmaster was nearly a senior, and took an extremely long time to talk. The headmaster looked to be in his early seventies, or late 6os. He was also writing on some documents, which he took a while.

"Ahem!" Hiroaki coughed out in order to get the headmaster's attention.

The headmaster was startled by the noise, and looked up from his documents, and

his attention went back to the Hirais, and he noticed just now.

"Oh, Mr. Kira, was there a reason why we were called in today? Is there a problem with our daughter?" Hiroaki asked suddenly, then realization dawned in the headmaster's eyes.

"Oh, sorry, but I do have a reason!" Kira, the headmaster exclaimed. "I do believe that young miss Satsuki is in need of counsel."

"What counsel?" Hiroaki asked.

"Is there a problem or not?" Sakurako snapped.

"Of course." Kira said. "A student in need of counsel will always have a problem."

"Is this a disciplinary problem?" Hiroaki asked, anger present in his voice.

"No." Kira concluded.

"What do you mean no?" Hiroaki shouted.

"I mean Satsuki is showing more and more signs of anti-socialism." Kira said. "From the start, she was always by herself, and she never once spoke in her classes, which led me to have many appointments with you, and this time, it will become a serious problem to her health."

"Are you okay?" Satsuki's brother, Yuki asked quietly, he could see her shaking.

"I…wish...they wouldn't talk about me…as if I wasn't here." Satsuki whispered back.

"What was that, miss Satsuki? Do you have any input as to why you do not participate in class, and are continuing to remain anti-social?" Kira asked her directly.

"I wish you wouldn't talk about me as if I wasn't here." Satsuki said, but not loud enough for all of them to hear. Only Yuki seemed to be able to hear it.

"I'm sorry. I didn't catch that."

"I wish you wouldn't talk about me as if I wasn't here." Satsuki said, but still they could not hear what she was trying to say.

"Miss Satsuki, I am afraid you'll have to speak a little louder."

"I am not comfortable with talking." Satsuki said, this time they heard her.

"Well, you have to get over your shyness in class, because you will not become a dependable person in the morning."

"I'm scared…" Satsuki said.

"Why are you scared?" Kira asked.

"Yes, why?" Hiroaki and Sakurako asked at the same time.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to talk to headmaster myself." She said quietly.

"But, we want to hear also." Sakurako said reassuringly. "We are very worried about you, Satsuki."

"Well, I am a parent myself, miss Hirai." Kira cut in. "I will hear her out, and if she's more comfortable with talking to me, then maybe we will all get to know her better."

"But, ever since junior high started for her, everything changed dramatically." Sakurako choked on her words as she tried to speak with a straight voice. "You have no idea how much she's changed since then."

Sakurako's eyes filled with tears, and she cried into Hiroaki's comforting shoulders.

"Yes, we want to"

"Mom? Dad?" Yuki cut in.

"Not now, Yuki. Mom and dad are busy talking." Hiroaki said, while stroking his wife's shoulders to calm her down slowly.

"But, dad…" Yuki said.

"What is it?" Sakurako asked, and wiped the last tear out of the corner of her eye.

"Um, Satsuki wants to talk to me." Yuki said.

"But, this does not concern you, Yuki. This is Satsuki's problem." Sakurako said.

"Please, may he listen?" Satsuki asked suddenly.

"Huh?"

"I want Yuki to listen to me." Satsuki said slowly.

"Oh, Satsuki." Yuki said, and placed his hand on top of hers to comfort her.

"Okay, if you wish." Sakurako agreed reluctantly, and left the three in the office alone.

… … …

"Can you please explain why you continuously try to remain silent?" Kira asked.

"I do it because…I hate…myself…" Satsuki said, and buried her face in her hands to hide her face, apparently she was in tears. Luckily, Yuki was there to comfort her.

"When did this all start? Your mother said it all began changing since junior high started."

"It's gonna be okay." Yuki reassured her, and Satsuki calmed down amazingly.

"Well…I started to have really terrible nightmares every night since I graduated elementary school."

"Nightmares? Can you tell me what these nightmares were about, and do these nightmares have anything to do with your anti-social disposition?"

"I dreamt…every night…about everyone around me dying right before my eyes. I dreamt that my future junior high school would rise in flames, and everyone would die…except me.

"It always starts out with me walking to school on an ominous day. I found myself walking the streets and the train alone, no one is on board, when I reach the school, the students and teachers are gathered in the square, and the whole place is engulfed in flames in the blink of an eye. I was powerless to stop it, and I can't move away. It still scares me."

"What does it have to do with you today? Did this dream occur often?"

"Yes."

"How often?"

"Everyday since I started junior high school."

"Do you try to avoid sleep?"

"I can't because it changes periodically. I can't have a normal dream without having to end up at the burning school."

"So, that's why you remain distant from your other classmates?"

"Yes. I am afraid that the cause of my dreams is because disaster will follow."

"Surely you don't believe in superstitions?"

"No, I believe everything happens for a reason, and I believe that the reason I'm dreaming up nightmares is because there is a reason. I can only imagine what tonight's dream is going to be."

"Is that all you wanted to speak about?"

"No, but I remember a recent dream. It was the newest addition by far."

"Is it worse than the other ones?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"I dreamt that I go to school, and the school is engulfed in flames, of course, but I can make out a human figure inside the flames, still alive. I go closer, and the flames open a path to reveal another me, or a double. I see that I have a sword covered in blood in my hands, and the very ground around me is covered with pools of blood, bones, and flames."

"This is strange, but I am afraid that I cannot help you decipher the meaning of your dream, but you cannot run away forever. You have to make friends."

"Does the vice-president and secretary forcibly taking me to the shrine count?"

"I'm sorry to say that it was my idea in the first place to have you go with them to the shrine."

"Oh, I see."

"But, if this is the cause of your troubles, I know of a companion of mine that is an expert in dreams and premonitions."

"Who?"

"Her name is…Touko Aozaki."

**-**End of Part 1**-**


	4. Case 3: A Dream of Darkness Pt 2

** The Boundary of Emptiness II: New Generation**

** -**Chiba Hiro

(I do not own Kara no Kyokai, or anything related to it. It all belongs to the people who created it.)

Case 3: A Dream of Darkness (Part 2 of 4)

… … …

-**Satsuki's dream-**

Satsuki walked the empty streets on the way to school like she usually does. Her unruly bangs cover her face as usual, and her overall appearance is like that of 'The Grudge'. She stopped at the crosswalk, but she knew it was useless because there were no cars coming, so she walked on.

Suddenly, the clouds gather, and rain pours down on her hard, but she does not care whether she gets wet or not. She continues to walk at a normal pace even though she is getting wet.

Satsuki reaches the school, and enters the courtyard, and finds everyone gathered in the middle, both teachers and students. They turn around to face her. The faces of her fellow classmates and teachers are blank, and expressionless. That's what scared her, because normally they would be lively in the morning, but not this time.

They all extended their left hands, and pointed at Satsuki, as if to blame her for something she might have done. Satsuki hated being the center of attention, so she ran through the crowd of students and teachers in order to escape their hateful eyes.

She pushes and shoves her way through eventually, and reaches the front door of the school, but quickly found that the doors would not open for her. Satsuki looks back in terror, and the crowd makes a pathway for another figure to walk through. They neither acknowledged nor ignored her presence.

Satsuki quickly made the figure out to be her. _Is that me? But I'm right here! _She thought. The other Satsuki stopped halfway, and looked directly at the original Satsuki. This version of Satsuki looked professional, and her hair did not look like it was fixed on the bed, and her eyes were blank, but staring at Satsuki in a caring sort-of-manner.

This Satsuki was probably what Satsuki would look like when she turned sixteen. Suddenly, the other Satsuki shrunk a few inches, and her hair grew unruly, and her eyes changed from blank to psycho in seconds. She pulled out a dagger from inside her sleeve, and lashed out at the crowd around her. In minutes, the crowd was totally annihilated, and only the two Satsukis stood standing.

Satsuki looked at the other one in fear, and fell to her knees before the chaos of the massacre. The faces of all the corpses stared horrifyingly at Satsuki as if she were to blame, but that was only partially true.

"It's not me!"

"It can't be me!"

"I'm not a killer!"

Satsuki shouted out, and cried at the same time. The sight of the other Satsuki was almost too blinding to see clearly, because flames rose up behind her, and she began walking toward the original Satsuki.

Satsuki backed up against the wall, and awaited her impending doom. She shivered even though the flames spread throughout the air, and could almost suffocate anyone who was still alive.

"I…I'm not a killer…am I?" she whispered.

The other Satsuki stopped just a few meters from the original. She pointed the bloodied knife toward Satsuki's chest, just a few centimeters to the right of where her heart was.

"Why did _you_ do it?" the other Satsuki spoke.

Her voice sounded like a mix between Satsuki's own voice, and a demonic sounding one overlapping it. It would sound a little like a demon possessing her, but it was not her, right?

"I didn't kill them! You did, whoever you are!" Satsuki protested.

"_You_ are me." The other Satsuki said. "And, _I_ am you."

The other Satsuki vanished from sight, and the flames surrounded Satsuki from all sides, and only she stood there. She had not realized that she had stood up, and when she looked down, she was holding the dagger that was used to kill all of her classmates and teachers. Her uniform was stained with crimson blood so much that the white on her shirt and socks were all red, and no white. It looked liked she had been bathing in blood, but she had not remembered that.

She dropped the dagger in fear, and looked at her blood stained hand in horror.

"It's not me!" Satsuki shouted. "It can't be me!"

-**End of Satsuki's dream-**

Satsuki woke up shouting out "It can't be me!" and sat up in her sweat covered sheets and blanket. It looked like she had been sweating all that time, and it wasn't even four o'clock in the morning yet.

"That same dream again." She whispered. "I need help."

At that very moment, Satsuki's parents and brother barged into her room and stood in her doorway.

"What's the matter, Satsuki?" they shouted in panic.

"A…bad dream, the same dream." She whispered.

"Is it a nightmare?" Sakurako, her mother, asked.

Satsuki nodded slowly.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Hiroaki, her father, asked.

Satsuki shook her head, no.

"How then?"

"How about you go see Touko?" Yuki, her brother, asked.

"Who's Touko?" Sakurako asked.

"That red-haired lady we met after we got off the train yesterday."

"That counselor?"

"Yes, that one."

"How do we know for sure if she can help?"

"After all, we don't know if she can help, because normal counselors don't have the proper training to interpret nightmares and dreams." Hiroaki put in.

"We don't know for sure, but what's there to do but go to her." Yuki said. "Mom, do you still have her number."

"I do, but are you certain that she's a good source?"

"I know she's legit." Yuki answered. "Even the headmaster said she's the best person to go to."

"I don't know." Saukrako sighed. "Do you want to go to Miss Touko?"

Satsuki nodded once, and the matter was quickly settled.

… … …

The Next Morning, Saturday- 8:30 AM

Normally, Satsuki would go to school on Saturdays like any other Japanese student, but the headmaster decided it best she go see Touko, and settle things, then pick up anything she missed on Monday. It was fair after all.

Satsuki stood at the entrance to the office building Touko worked at. Even though it was on short notice, Touko set aside all her regular morning appointments in order to help her. She was even kind enough to offer to have lunch with her.

The floor she worked on was the very top one, level seven, and it was the one with the window directly above the front entrance. Already she could see Touko working because it was very hard not to miss Touko's crimson red hair in a high ponytail. _Well, this is it! _She thought, and went through the door to the front desk.

"Hello, miss, how may we help you?" the front desk woman asked, looking up from her papers.

"I, uh, came to see Ms. Touko Aozaki." Satsuki said.

"Hmm, give me one second, and I'll page her." The woman said, and pressed a Key on the keyboard of the computer, and looked back at Satsuki.

"Do you have an appointment with Ms. Aozaki?"

Satsuki nodded.

"I came for…counseling."

"Well, that's unusual for her to accept counseling." The woman said more to herself than to Satsuki.

"…May I see her, please?" Satsuki asked. "I promise I'll be quick."

Immediately, the woman picked the phone up and dialed a three-digit number and waited for an answer.

"Yes, Touko, she's here to see you." The woman said.

She took her ear off the phone for a moment to ask Satsuki her name.

"Yes, Miss Satsuki is here."

She put the phone down, and looked back up to Satsuki.

"She's waiting on floor seven, office number 717."

"Thank you."

With that, Satsuki went to the elevator, and took it up to level seven.

… … …

As if Touko had already known she would knock, she opened the door swiftly, which caused Satsuki to stumble a little, but Touko kept her in balance.

"How did you know I was at the door before I could knock?" Satsuki asked, surprised.

"Oh, I sensed your presence as soon as I heard the elevator doors opening."

"That's amazing!"

"You could say that I have special powers."

Satsuki looked confused.

"Anyway, please come and have a seat." Touko gestured to one of the comfortable sofas in the room with the coffee table between them.

Satsuki looked around the room, and found that it was perhaps as big as three of her classrooms combined. That was big!

"Wow, this office of yours is huge!" Satsuki exclaimed, amazed.

"Well, you should know that this office is the biggest in the entire office, and I'm the manager here."

"What kind of business do you run? The sign just read 'Garan no Dou', I'm not sure exactly what that means."

"You could say that we handle underground investigation jobs."

"You mean you solve mysteries?"

"You're very perceptive, Satsuki?" Touko complimented, which made Satsuki hang her head in embarrassment.

"No one's ever called me perceptive before." She mumbled, but Touko had the ears of a trained professional, so she heard it clear as day.

"Anyway, you can start by telling me what's been bothering you." Touko said, setting Satsuki down on one of the sofas, and Touko on the other.

"What is bothering you so much?"

"I didn't mention this to anyone but the principal, or my younger brother, but I've been having strange dreams lately."

"Oh, strange?"

"Yes, like recurring nightmares."

"Tell me about it." Touko said, and conjured up two cups of tea, and a teakettle out from nowhere.

Satsuki's eyes widened, and was about to ask how she did that, but Touko beat her to it.

"It's just simple magic of conjuration, nothing more." She answered, and handed Satsuki her cup. "Anyway, please go on."

After that, Satsuki explained everything about the dreams she's been having, and why it keeps her from socializing. Touko drank a little from her cup, and remained silent afterward. Then, she lowered the cup, and looked straight into Satsuki's eyes.

"I see you have a problem." She said. "It seems that in this dream of yours, there's another you, and that other you massacred everyone in sight, and she dissolved into nothing, then you were covered in the blood, and held the dagger instead?"

"Yes, that's pretty much it." Satsuki said, sipping from her cup of tea. "I've been having that same nightmare for a while now. I can't remember when or where it started but I know it has always been the same."

"Okay, so why does this dream keep you from socializing?" Touko asked. "From what I gather, you are unable to make friends for fear of hurting them in some way, but you very much desire to make friends. Am I correct, or close?"

Satsuki lowered her head a little more, to the point where her messy bangs fell over her eyes, concealing them in shadow.

"I'll take that as a yes?"

Satsuki nodded.

"I…was wondering if you could help me." Satsuki said softly.

"Hmm, I will help you."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Thank you."

"There's no reason why I shouldn't help you. After all, there is one person I knew that was exactly like you, and she had to struggle throughout life finding out if what I gave her, and what her actions led to were right."

Satsuki lifted her head a little; so one eye peeked through the shadow.

"Really?"

"She reminds me so much of how you are now, that I can't help but help what I couldn't help all those years ago."

"Who was this person to you?"

"You could say that she was my apprentice." Touko said with a smirk.

"That sounds cool."

"And, you know what else? You bear a resemblance to my former apprentice so much that you look almost exactly like her when she was fourteen."

"I do?" Satsuki asked.

"But, she had a far worse problem than you, I'm afraid." Touko said sadly. "She struggled to find her place in the world. She may have been the daughter of a famous group of hunters, and heir, but she was always struggling to figure out what she was. You could say that there were two sides of her, one was her sane side, and the other was a psychotic murderer who felt nothing but contempt for the world around her."

"That sounds horrible!" Satsuki gasped. "Am I turning into her?"

"You would be if you had a split personality with violent urges."

"I hope I don't."

"Anyway, now that we talked, shall we go and have lunch?" Touko offered. "I promised I'd treat you."

"Thank you."

Unbeknownst to Touko, Satsuki stood up and walked over to the door and stared at the mirror next to it. In the mirror she saw herself, but what scared her was that the reflection was not her anymore. It showed Touko's office in ruin, and in the middle of it, was her, but at the same time not her. The Satsuki in the mirror held a katana and wore clothes both stained with someone else's blood.

Satsuki backed away from the mirror, and punched it with all her might, trying to get the image of her other self out of her mind. Surprisingly, the mirror shattered at her fist, and Satsuki collapsed. As she collapsed, the image of her other self remained in the shattered mirror, all covered in blood, and holding the sword above the reflection of the original Satsuki's limp body covered in blood.

"Satsuki!"

-**End of Part 2-**


	5. Case 4: A Dream of Darkness Pt 3

** The Boundary of Emptiness II: New Generation**

** -**Chiba Hiro

(I do not own Kara no Kyokai, or anything related to it. It all belongs to the people who created it.)

Case 4: A Dream of Darkness (Part 3 of 4)

… … …

Seeing Satsuki punch the mirror randomly, she knew that she must have been going through an identity crisis, much like Shiki had many years ago. But this was becoming more bizarre. Touko ran over to Satsuki, and checked her bleeding knuckles. Other than the fact that her hand was bleeding and the mirror shattered when she punched it, she knew that she had seen something in the mirror that spooked her.

Touko conjured up a roll of bandages and cleaning alcohol, she cleaned and dressed Satsuki's bleeding hand in a matter of minutes through many past experiences with dealing with injuries.

Satsuki woke up on one of the sofas, an hour later, to find that her hand was covered in bandages. Then, realization was coming to her. She punched the mirror by the door with as much strength as she could muster, and because she did, the mirror shattered, and cut her hand in the process. But, what caused her to do that anyway?

No! She remembered now! She had seen herself in the mirror, but it was not her exactly. It was a different Satsuki. The Satsuki in the mirror was holding a katana in her hand, and had the look of a serial killer in her eyes. Other than that, she had been smiling evilly, and Satsuki did not remember doing that. She also saw flames behind the reflection of the other Satsuki. When, she blinked, the image was still there, but that time, the other Satsuki was covered in blood all over. What's more, she was standing over the limp body of the original Satsuki!

When she remembered that, she looked down at her hand as if it was a stranger's hand and not hers. _What am I becoming?_

"I see you are awake." Touko said, sitting across from Satsuki, smoking a cigarette as she always did.

Satsuki coughed when she smelled the odor of tobacco, and sat up straighter.

"What happened?" Satsuki asked even though she knew the answer.

She took a puff from her cigarette, and put it out before she spoke.

"You lashed out and punched my mirror and shattered it." Touko answered. "I had to trash it because it was broken beyond repair."

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. It was taking too much space anyway."

"But, couldn't you have fixed it with magic?" Satsuki asked.

"I could, but obviously it was causing you problems."

Satsuki looked down at her feet, guilty at what she did anyway, but she had reason to do it.

"Tell me what you saw in that mirror." Touko said suddenly.

"How did-?"

"I saw you staring into it with fear in your face. I have seen it too much to know that it was probably a hallucination in the mirror."

"I- I saw…" she hesitated, and tears streamed into her eyes because she was scared of describing the horror she saw in the mirror.

"Tell me." Touko said, and raised her hand as if she was gesturing for a handshake.

As if a greater force of will compelled her to talk, she told Touko what she had seen in the mirror that frightened her.

"I see." Touko replied after Satsuki explained. "Come with me."

Touko led Satsuki to the corner of the room where the bookshelf was, and pressed a hidden button on the side. Instantly the bookshelf parted halfway down the middle, and revealed a hidden passageway.

"Let's go." Touko said.

"Where are we going?"

"We are going to confront your demons, and you must be the one to confront it head on."

"How am I going to deal with the demon?"

"You have a power within you that lets you banish demons and apparitions."

Touko started walking, and Satsuki followed after her. The passageway was dimly lit with medieval lanterns, and led to a spiral staircase that went down. When Satsuki looked down, she could not see the bottom, because it was so pitch black.

… … …

For about an hour, they went down step after step down the seemingly endless flight of stairs. Satsuki became a little weak in the knees, and stumbled a little, and almost crashed into Touko had she not used a spell to stop Satsuki from crashing into Touko.

"Are you alright?" Touko asked, after she set Satsuki upright.

"Yeah, I'm just a little tired though." Satsuki replied, gasping for breath.

"We have to go on a little further down before you can rest." Touko said. "You have no time to rest because sooner or later, that demon of yours will separate and become real if you do not deal with it now."

"How do you know it's real?"

"I did a little scrying into your mind, and saw the demon while you were asleep."

"You saw it?"

"Actually, I had to go a little deep into your subconscious before I finally found it. When I left your subconscious, you had already begun to wake up."

"Oh, so how do I deal with my demon side?"

"You have to fight it, and kill it before it materializes into this world."

They had only been talking for a few minutes, but it seemed the flight of stairs stopped finally, and led down to a circular room with a plain mattress and an armchair next to it.

"Lie down, and close your eyes." Touko ordered her, and Satsuki did as she was told.

Satsuki waited patiently, and closed her eyes but was surprised she had not fallen asleep by this point, because it had been a few moments. Touko had told her to lie down and close her eyes without opening them until she told her to a few minutes before, but so far, she had not fallen asleep miraculously.

Satsuki felt Touko's presence next to her, and she was whispering a chant in a strange language she had not heard at all before. A few minutes into the chant, she got a little louder, then it turned into a melody, and Satsuki felt herself slipping into a state of deep sleep.

Satsuki looked around, and found herself standing in utter darkness, until the world around her lightened up and revealed the outside world. It looked just like her neighborhood. She knew she was in a dream, and it had to be a dream, but somehow she was feeling the heat of the blazing sun overhead. You shouldn't be able to feel heat inside of dreams, right?

The street was suddenly filled with a bustling crowd of people walking around her. At first, there was none, but now it had grown a lot busier. There were even cars and trains. In her previous dreams, the streets had been empty, and there were no cars or trains either, but this one was different.

Satsuki suddenly heard a voice in her head.

_"Go find the demon!" _it said to her.

It was right, Satsuki had to find the demon, or her other self, before it became real and did unspeakable things to her world. Satsuki ran and ran through the streets, but found no one even remotely resembling the demon.

… … …

The afternoon was fading into evening, and Satsuki still could not find the demon. Perhaps the demon was eluding her, and could only be found when Satsuki did not want to find her demon. If that was the case, then the demon must be a smart one.

The evening chill settled in, and got her shivering badly. This must be some dream to make her feel cold. She could also smell the cooking from various restaurants, and knew that no ordinary dream could get her to smell aromas.

Satsuki felt the presence of something unnatural turned around to the source, and saw the demon, grinning, but she did not have the katana with her. Instead of making eye contact with her, she was looking elsewhere, and Satsuki followed the demon's gaze, and saw her brother, Yuki was waiting to cross the street because there were cars coming.

Demon Satsuki smiled evilly, and pushed Yuki out into the street! Satsuki blinked for a second, and then it was all over! A car that did not stop in time ran over Yuki accidentally.

"Yuki! No!" Satsuki yelled out, but it was useless.

Satsuki ran out into the street, and tried to get her brother to wake up. This could not happen! That evil demon murdered Yuki! But, could this really be a dream? If it was, then why couldn't she control it? Most people have control over their dreams, so why couldn't she have stopped Demon Satsuki from killing her brother involuntarily!

"That evil bitch will pay!" Satsuki cursed, and turned to where Demon Satsuki was a moment ago, but she had disappeared. Within minutes, ambulances and police cars surrounded the area. Police officers and paramedics filed out of their vehicles to survey Yuki's lifeless body.

"Excuse me, miss, but I'm afraid you're going to have to step away from the body." A paramedic said.

"You can see me?" Satsuki asked, surprised.

"Yes, we can see you, now please move." He said, and Satsuki stepped away from Yuki.

The paramedic pulled a stethoscope from inside his jacket and laid it over Yuki's heart to listen.

"He's dead." He said, and they hauled his body into a body bag and stretcher.

"Wait, what do you mean he's dead!" Satsuki shouted.

"Calm down, miss. I tried to listen for a heartbeat, but his heart had stopped. I'm sorry."

"What do you mean you're sorry?" Satsuki shouted, tears streaming her eyes. "He's my brother, and all you have to say is sorry!"

Before Satsuki had a chance to beat the crap out of the paramedic, a couple of police officers nearby stopped her from beating him senseless by grabbing her arms. Combined, the two officers overpowered Satsuki's own, and she just stopped squirming and cried silently to herself, muttering 'Yuki' while she was doing so.

They let her go, and she fell on her knees, feeling like her heart had been forcibly yanked out of her chest and thrown on the ground next to her body.

The officers and paramedics cleared the area, and took Yuki's body on a stretcher onto the ambulance.

"If you want, you could come with us to the hospital." The same paramedic suggested, but remained cautious of what Satsuki might do, because truth be told, this officer hated seeing girls crying, especially over a close relative like a brother or sister. Because of that, he wanted to make it up to her by letting her come with them.

Satsuki wanted to go with them, but the same voice that she heard not too long ago urged her to forget about her brother, and worry about the demon doing more damage. She might have started with her brother, but her parents are definitely in line to be murdered by the hands of this demon.

Satsuki stood up, and ran off in the direction of her house, because that is probably where the Demon Satsuki had went. _You won't get away with this!_

… … …

When Satsuki reached her house, she was horrified by what she saw. The house that used to stand there was burnt down to rubble, nothing remained, and there were paramedics hauling two bodies on stretchers onto the ambulances. They were different, of course, but that was not the point.

Satsuki ran up to them, and started inquiring them about what happened.

"Wha- what happened here?" she demanded, already hoarse from crying along the way.

"When we got the emergency call from a neighbor, and arrived as quickly as we could."

"No, what happened?" she shouted angrily.

"The witness said the house was up in flames in a matter of seconds, and it engulfed whoever, or whatever was inside." One of the paramedics answered.

"What about mom and dad?" Satsuki asked.

"When we arrived, we found two bodies that were burnt beyond recognition, and they were once the bodies of a man and a woman. I'm sorry."

Satsuki was about to boil right there, and pound them for it, but knew it was useless.

"That's all you paramedics have to say, 'you're sorry'. Well, I'm tired of it! First, my brother is murdered in front of me, and now it's my parents!" Satsuki shouted.

"We're sorry." The paramedic said. "You can come with us if you want."

_"Go find the demon!" _the voice from before shouted in her mind, but she ignored it.

_I have to see my parents and brother for the last time, and there might not be another chance, and there's this demon after them! I have no one else in this world now that my family is gone! I have no one, you understand! So, shut the fuck up! _Satsuki yelled at the voice inside of her head, and made it stop.

"I'm coming." She said, holding back her tears.

-End of Part 3-

… … …


	6. Case 5: A Dream of Darkness Pt 4

** The Boundary of Emptiness II: New Generation**

** -**Chiba Hiro

(I do not own Kara no Kyokai, or anything related to it. It all be4longs to the people who created it.)

Case 5: A Dream of Darkness (Part 4 of 4)

Saturday evening- 7:45PM (hours after both parents and brother's deaths)

Satsuki waited outside of the emergency room of the hospital, hopelessly waiting for the doctor's signal to go in. Twice that day the three most important people in her life died, no, slaughtered was the better word for this. She found that she could not cry for them anymore, because they had dried a long time ago. She was in a sad state, her overall appearance was even worse than before. Her clothes were dirty everywhere, her normally pallid skin was even more pale now, and her messy bangs fell over her eyes, concealing them under heavy shadows, and her mouth was set in a tight line, completely devoid of emotion whatsoever.

People found her appearance odd and began muttering strange things about her, and twice now three boys her age had commented that she looked even worse than 'The Grudge', but she did not care at all, she told herself, and backed up against the chair even more, trying to make herself smaller somehow.

Just then, one of the nurses emerged from the emergency room. The nurse had short brown hair in a bun, and the usual nurse outfit, and glasses. She had an expression that basically told Satsuki what she already knew. She just sat in the chair, hugging her knees to her chest, and looking away from the nurse who was walking toward her very slowly to tell her the thing she reluctantly already knew.

"Uh…miss Satsuki?" the nurse asked. "I…uh…" she hesitated, but could not think a way to break the news to Satsuki without seeing Satsuki break down in front of her, causing a scene. She was very sensitive when it came to the casual breakdowns, but the first time she had seen Satsuki was in the ambulance, and she was as much of a mess then as she is now, only hours later.

"Well, your parents and…brother, they…" she hesitated yet again, but could not bring herself to say it.

Satsuki turned her head reluctantly to the struggling nurse, and looked up with a visible eye from behind her messy bangs covering her pale face. The eye contained understanding, and she obviously must know that the nurse was going to tell her that her parents and brother are dead.

"Uh, nurse, I already know…" she said distantly. "My parents…and brother…are dead."

The nurse was shocked to hear Satsuki confess that she already knew, and what was more surprising was that she managed to gather the courage to keep her feelings bottled up inside. Knowing this, the nurse's eyes started to fill with tears that threatened to break out in front of this girl. She was a trained professional, and she knew that she could not let her own emotions get in the way of her work, but unfortunately, today it did not work.

"Well, if you understand then, come with me." The nurse managed to say without letting her sobs get the better of her.

Satsuki stood up and looked like a person who had lost everything dear to her, even her very soul had seemed drained of hope. Satsuki hated pity, and did not want anyone sympathizing with her, for she knows that the reason her parents and brother are dead is because of her, and her demon.

The only way she could get reconciled from this is to confront her demon, kill it, or be killed by it, and hopefully if she dies, she will probably meet her family on the other side of death.

"…Sorry" she said distantly, and ran away from the nurse.

"Wait, where are you going?" the nurse shouted after her rapidly disappearing figure, but her voice could not be heard.

… … …

Outside, all she could focus on was trying to find her demon in this world. She knows that this world was created by her subconscious, and there was no way in hell that Touko had what it took to transport her body and mind into the outside world from her sleeping body at the bottom of the spiral staircase into nothing. This was probably a dimension of her creation, and that one spark of hope separated her from total despair and darkness.

Where would she be hiding if she were to slaughter people she knew. Suddenly, her instincts kicked in, and she ran down an alleyway, and across the street, and turned toward the house that was at the corner. She felt an ominous presence from there, and ran there quickly, and suddenly, her vision fixed itself to one-hundred percent, and she found that she could see things almost too clearly, but one place stood out at the corner of her eye.

She turned her head toward it, and then sprinted toward the house with inhuman speed, and opened the door to a horrid scene. There were three bodies lying around the coffee table of the living room, a bladed weapon has slaughtered all of them. Satsuki turned on the lamp to the living room.

When she turned on the lights, she caught a better sight of what the three people were. One of them was Sakura Ogura, one of the girls from school who invited her to the temple on New Years day about five months ago. Apparently, her body was the one that was slashed the most. The only thing left recognizable was her face, not covered in blood, eyes open and mouth looking like she was surprised.

The other ones appeared to be a middle-aged man and woman both related to Sakura, possibly her parents. She never felt any sympathy toward the popular girl and secretary from her school. In fact, she hated everything about her, and wondered why in the world she would be targeted.

Then, it hit her! Her demon was only targeting people whom she harbored contempt toward. At one time or another, she had held contempt for her father, and only a couple times with her mother, but she could not remember ever feeling contempt toward her younger brother. In fact, she loved him the most, like a proper older sister would, but her demon did not seem to see that fact.

Demon Satsuki was nowhere in sight, and appeared to have slaughtered the family a little less than thirty minutes ago, but that would be impossible because she should have encountered the demon somewhere in between. Paying her respects, Satsuki draped the family under some sheets, and put them into sleeping positions, not bothering to clean the blood off. She locked the door behind her, and thought about where the next target would be.

The next one could be the vice-president, Akari Ichimura, but she did not know where she lived, so how could she know where to look? Her eyes widened as her vision got to one hundred percent again, and she began to follow a trail with cracks along it. _That's weird; there are cracks that weren't there before! _She thought.

She was certain that those cracks had not been there before, and she blinked a few times. This time, the cracks disappeared. _Where'd they go? _

Now was no time to be wondering about the little things, now she had to find the other Satsuki!

… … …

Sunday morning- 1:10AM

Everywhere she went, and wherever her instincts led, everyone she had found was found dead the same way. Now, she got to the point where she no longer knew anyone whom she held contempt toward. The last one to be killed that night was her principal.

_Where in the world are you, demon? _She asked.

She stopped running to catch her breath at a shop, and looked at the glass window. Of course! Her demon had to live in mirrors, so this time, her demon would be in her reflection.

"Alright, I know you're there." She whispered fiercely at her normal reflection, its mouth mimicking hers. "Quit playing and come out and fight me."

Suddenly, the reflection in the glass window gained its familiarity, and grinned evilly. She knew that there was no way that she would be capable of grinning like that, so the demon really did live in her reflection.

She faced the demon unafraid, and glared at it. Instinctively, she reached out, and grabbed the demon's neck in the mirror. Her hand fazed right through as if the glass window was not there, and she felt real flesh. This was just an illusion.

Similar to the first time, cracks appeared in her vision, and she began to see black lines all around her, and this time, they were no illusion, because when she touched a line where one of the lines were, and slashed down the crack, and just like that, the glass window shattered at her touch.

The demon came out! It was hideous when it was not just a reflection. It had Satsuki's face, but it was strangely altered. Its head had elongated by an inch, and became narrower. It seemed to stretch until it grew to about six feet, and its eyes turned black with no whites in them. Then, a single horn grew out of its head, and fangs protruded from its mouth, and nails transformed into claws of steel.

The thing actually looked like a demon Satsuki. Then, the thing began to run with incredible speed.

Satsuki was not about to let the thing escape from her! Not when it slaughtered her family! It was consequently her fault because the thing had probably used her face to kill everyone she knew, and she was definitely feeling guilt. But, there was no more self-blaming, because here it's either do or die!

Satsuki sprinted after it.

Satsuki had learned to utilize her full speed, and sprinted ten times faster than an Olympic sprinting champion.

The demon leaped onto the building next to it and began hopping roofs in an attempt to escape from Satsuki.

But, Satsuki used all the power her legs could muster, and ran up the side of the building, and hopped after it.

It was essentially becoming a game of tag, but she had never played it before. If this was what tag was then she was going to enjoy every single bit of it, by tearing the thing's tongue from its mouth, and crushing its heart! _Wait! Since when did I start thinking like a demon? Am I really a demon? _All these conflicting emotions clouded her mind now, and she lost sight of the creature only to be kicked really hard, and sent back about a hundred meters.

She clutched her stomach painfully, and stared up at the demon. It had stopped running, and was now ready to face her. She stared up at it in raw anger, and coughed before settling to normal breathing.

The demon was about to step on her with a giant foot, and crush her ribs while doing so, but Satsuki rolled away swiftly, and got to her feet in seconds, though still clutching her throbbing stomach. Satsuki searched around for a weapon she could use, and rummaged through her pockets, and felt a weight in it.

Satsuki pulled it out, and it was a pocketknife. Of course, this was her world for now, and she had control over it! Satsuki switched the blade out, and got into a stance. She had been taking kendo lessons for a while now. Even though she was not holding a sword, the knife felt right in her hand, almost comforting.

Then, the strangest thing happened, the cracks she could see on the creature's body had gotten bigger, and she could now see its aura. It was a crimson colored aura, like fire dancing around the demon. Satsuki focused even more, and she vanished from sight.

In a matter of seconds, she was pushing the demon back. The demon could only keep up when it could actually see Satsuki, but Satsuki was surprisingly fast for a human! Wait! Was she even human? Should this be happening? Certainly not!

The demon caught the blade in between its sharp claws, and slashed Satsuki on the shoulder before she could yank it away. The force of the slash caused Satsuki to jump back a few yards away from the demon.

She clutched her left shoulder with her free hand, and at the same time tried to find an area to attack. The demon did not wait for Satsuki to make the first move, and it too moved with inhuman speed. The demon maneuvered to the left when she thought it was moving right, and then it slashed her across her left leg, which caused her to fall on one knee.

It was about to be over! With a bleeding shoulder and leg, she could only move so much before she bled to death. The blood was already dripping to the open-roof's floor, creating a pool under her feet. Her vision was beginning to cloud as a wave of nausea hit her like a fastball. She keeled over and vomited blood that had suddenly welled up in her mouth. It tasted like bitter vinegar, and felt warm in her mouth. The demon walked toward her again, and kicked her chin up, sending her up and down on her back, blood forming into a pool underneath her. White shirt turning to red as it soaked in.

_Is this really how it was going to end? I'm gonna die, and this monster's gonna kill more people and I'll be cursed for life? _She thought these final thoughts. She closed her eyes to await the final blow before a voice echoed in her head. Then, her mind blanked out.

… … …

Inside her mind, she stood in total darkness again, and a voice was echoing all around. They were all illiterate sounds, but then it became clear. Suddenly, the darkness gave way to light, and she was standing in the sky, on a cloud! That was physically impossible, unless she was dead and she didn't feel her death.

_You must win!_ It kept saying. _You have the power now!_

What power? She thought, and turned to the direction it was coming from. The source of its voice came from a woman who looked almost like her, but not really. The woman had short, messy black hair also, but her eyes were deep blue with a little bit of gold and purple mixed in to look like a circuit. It could possibly be her when she was an adult, but there was no way her eyes were like that. What's more, she was also wearing a blood red kimono. That seemed odd. No one wears kimonos like that nowadays...

_Your newfound strength, speed, and vision. _She communicated over to Satsuki.

How do I use it again?

_Call upon me and together we can win._

Who are you?

_I am deep within your subconscious._

I said who are you, not where are you.

_I am known by many names, but you may call me Akasha._

_ You _meanthe origin of all things, the Akasha?

_Yes._

Then tell me how to use you.

… … …

Satsuki's body erupted with a white light and temporarily blinded the demon that was about to deliver the final blow. Satsuki got to her feet slowly, wounds seemed to be nothing more than small cuts now, and they stopped bleeding altogether.

Satsuki vanished for a second and reappeared next to the demon the next second. She lashed out and slashed about seventeen times at the demon. Across the chest, the arms, the legs, across the neck, down the head and across it, down the back and shoulders, the ears, the ankles, the wrists, through the forehead, stomach, on the waist, behind the legs, behind the arms, and finally through the heart.

The demon was chopped into seventeen pieces, and the organs were all exposed. The demon could no doubt regenerate from being chopped to several pieces, but without its heart, it could no longer heal itself. So, without further prompting, Satsuki walked over to the exposed heart, and knelt down next to it.

The heart was still beating as if it was still in the demon's chest, but it wouldn't matter once it was silenced forever.

"Goodbye…and good riddance." She said before she stabbed it again, stopping it from ever beating again.

The demon's body now in pieces, disintegrated until nothing was left but the stench of the dead demon.

_I finally did it._ She thought and fell unconscious, exhausted from using the amount of power she did.

… … …

Sunday morning- 5:02AM

Touko Aozaki stood on the roof next to Satsuki's unconscious form, and knelt down next to her. She picked her up in her arms and walked toward the hospital, which was several blocks down.

"Well, I'm sorry to break it to you, but that was very much real." She said more to herself than to Satsuki. "I know you wouldn't want to believe it, but when you wake up, you'll find that everyone that was killed tonight will stay dead."

"As to what I used…I used a simple mind and body transfer, and placed you several hours into the future, very complicated magic indeed."

"You lost everything tonight, but you still have your future ahead of you, and I have many things planned for your newfound abilities, Satsuki Hirai…"

-**End of A Dream of Darkness**-


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